The Bully, The Fight, and The Blade
by Iamafanoftoomanythingstoname
Summary: Crud. I've never gotten in trouble at school before. The principal told us that we have detention. Today. And he will have to call Darry. I hope that I don't get in too much trouble with him.
1. The Bully

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.**

**Ponyboy's Pov**

The bell rang. School was over. I started to walk out to go home when I saw a Soc that was bullying another kid.

"Hey!" I yelled to him, "You better leave that kid alone."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" The bully said in a nasty voice.

"Just leave her alone, or I'll call a teacher."

"Oh, I'm so scared," he said sarcastically. "You'll shut your mouth, or I'll shut it for ya!" Then he punched me. I was ready to fight. A crowd gathered around us.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" They all screamed. And we did. If we both got more guys, we could've had a rumble. It was that bad. Then, a teacher happened to walk by.

"BOYS! Stop it!" We stopped, and she told us to go to the principal's office. Crud. I've never gotten in trouble at school before. The principal told us that we have detention. Today. And he will have to call Darry. I hope that I don't get in too much trouble with him. So I went to detention. I was sitting there, doing absolutely nothing when the teacher said that my brother is here. Darry stepped in. He looked a little mad. Actually, a lot mad. I almost asked the teacher if I could just stay here. I got up and walked over to Darry. He just glared at me, and turned around. Then we walked out to his car. He said absolutely nothing.

I bit my lip and said, "Hey, Darry. So, uh, how's it going?" Still nothing. I gulped. He was probably going to chew me out when we got home. It wasn't going to be fun, but we wouldn't fight, would we? We weren't supposed to fight anymore. He would probably just yell a little, and things would go back to normal. I was wrong.


	2. The Fight

We got out of the car and walked into our house in absolute silence. Then, Darry exploded on me.

"I can't believe you got into a fight at school. Especially with a Soc. And you picked the fight yourself!"

"But…" I started.

"No. I don't want to hear your excuses. Your principal pulled me out of work to come get you! The roof of this house I'm working on has to be done in two days, and it's only halfway done. These things take time, and I need as much time as I can get. And I get pulled out of it just because my stupid kid brother that picks a fight with a Soc!" That got me mad. I was about to yell something back when Sodapop walked in.

"Hey, guys!" Then he saw the angry looks on our faces and stopped. "What's going on?" Darry told him everything. "It's okay. I'm sure we can work everything out," Soda said.

"No. If I don't have my work done, my boss is really going to chew me out," Darry said.

"I'm sure you can just explain to him what's going on, and maybe he'll lay off."

"It's not going to work. It has to be done in two days. My boss is really strict. Ponyboy, if you think that this is bad, it's nothing compared to what I'm probably going to get. To make up for this, I'm going to have to carry three bundles of roofing up the ladder."

"You can't do that!" Soda said. He knew that Darry would have worse than pulled muscles if he carried _three_.

"I'm going to have to. Thanks to my ignorant kid brother, I'll be lucky to come home with just _one_ broken arm."

"And if you don't, I'll break it for you!" I yelled. Darry looked surprised.

"Ponyboy!" Soda said in shock.

"All you care about is yourself," I said to Darry. Then we started fighting some more.

"Stop it, you guys! Just calm down," Soda said. But we didn't stop. Our fight just kept getting worse and worse. I was getting really mad, and Darry was getting real fired up. I couldn't believe what he did next. He drew back his fist, and punched me almost as hard as he did when Steve called him 'all brawn and no brain.' Soda stood there with his mouth open. There was a long silence. Darry looked at me. "Ponyboy…" I was really fuming by then. I wasn't scared like last time. _Oh, no_. I was really mad. All of my good times with Darry faded away.

"I'm done, Darrel. And I really mean it this time. All you care about is yourself. At the hospital that day, I thought that I was wrong and that you did care about me. I'm beginning to rethink my decision. I think it was all a lie. You probably sat there and thought, 'oh, maybe if I go and cry in front of Pony, then maybe he'll forgive me so that I can make him mad again.' I was wrong. You never cared!" He looked real sorry, but I figured that was another lie.

"That's not true. I do care about you…"

"No, you don't! You don't care what my side of the story is. The reason why I got into that fight was because that Soc was bullying someone. I didn't want a fight. I told him to stop it, and then he was the one who decided to fight, and I wasn't itching to be called Chickenboy instead of Ponyboy!"

"You didn't tell me…"

"Only because you didn't give me a chance to! You didn't listen." Then, I turned around to walk out the door when Darry interrupted me.

"Ponyboy, I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to! I just lost control of what I was doing. I didn't think."

"I gave you your second chance, and you blew it," I said.

"Ponyboy, Darry's going to need a heck of a lot more than two chances. And what about your promise?" Soda said. I ignored it.

"I'm done. I'm getting out of here. I don't care what you say. I'm not coming back this time."

"What about me?" Soda asked. I thought about it.

"Alright, you can come with me."

"I can't just leave Darry here by himself!"

"Of course you can. He's twenty years old, and he can take care of himself!" I looked over at Darry and saw hurt in his eyes._ 'Maybe I can just forget this ever happened and give him another chance,' _I pushed the thought away and looked at Soda. By the look in his eyes, I could tell that he wasn't going to change his mind and come with me.

"Did you forget that we are greasers? We're not rich Socs. Darry already works two jobs. I have a job to help him pay the bills and stuff. If I left, he wouldn't be able to make enough money. Come on, can't we all just sit down and talk about this?" Darry looked at me.

"Please, little buddy?" I almost agreed. I mean, we did already forgive each other and promised not to fight anymore. But I remembered what he did to me.

"No. I'm done. You hear me? Done. I'm leaving."

"Where would you go?" Darry asked softly.

"I don't know, but wherever it is, it will be far away from you!" He grimaced.

"Did you forget what happened? Mom and Dad died and left Darry to take care of two kids. He's got a ton more things to worry about than he used to. He doesn't have it easy, Pony."

"No. I'm sorry Soda." Then I turned around and walked straight out the door without another word.


	3. Always

**The song in this chapter is called Always by the band Dope.**

I just kept walking for a while without knowing where I was going. I kept thinking about my relationship with Darry.

_Let's go back to the start  
Like it used to be  
Before you fell apart  
And you blamed it on me_

Isn't that the truth?_  
_

_Back when you were my friend  
Do you remember back then?_

Before Mom and Dad died, we actually got along okay.

_All the plans that we made  
Can we get back to those days_

I wish it could go back to the way that it used to be.

_Those days come every now and again  
No way I feel like this is the end but_

I really don't think that I'm going back this time.

___Always is in your eyes_

He never cares how I feel about anything.

___In always I realize  
That always is you and I  
For always, always_

__It's always been between me and Darry.

_Let's go back to the start  
Like it used to be  
Before your broken heart  
And your hatred for me_

Since Mom and Dad died, all he does is holler at me.

_Back when all this began  
Do you remember back when  
All the plans that we made  
Can we get back to those days_

I tried to pretend many times that none of this ever happened at all. I pretend… what do I pretend?

_Those days I don't know what I pretend  
No way I feel like this is the end but_

_Always is in your eyes  
In always I realize  
That always is you and I  
For Always, Always_

_Is there any wonder I'm not right_

I'm probably not even right about this, but I don't care.

___(Where do we go now where do we go now)  
Is there any wonder you won't fight_

I kind of expected Darry not to let me leave without a fight, but he probably didn't because I hurt him and he was feeling sorry for himself and forgot about that.

_(Where do we go now where do we go now)  
Have there been too many wrongs to right_

There probably have been. Too many wrongs for _Darry_ to right, anyways.

_I'd say goodbye but_

_Always is in your eyes__  
__In always I realize  
That always is you and I  
For Always, Always_

I was tired of Darry pushing me around and yelling at me for every little mistake I make. I never want to see him again. I would miss Sodapop though. That was the only downside. Then it hit me. I know where I'll go. Out to the country.__

Always is in your eyes  
(Let's go back to the start, Like it used to be)  
In always I realize  
(Before you fell apart, And you blamed it on me)  
That always is you and I  
(Back when you were my friend, Do you remember back then)  
For Always, Always  
(All the plans that we made, Can we get back to those days)

For Always

**Okay, this story is NON-SLASH, so I don't want to hear any sick comments from anybody. Slash is disgusting. Sorry about that. Review, please!**


	4. The Blade

**Darry Pov**

This is the second time. The second time that Ponyboy ran off because of me. It was my fault. Yet again. I'm glad Soda decided to stay. I can't believe Pony thought that it would be okay if they both left. Soda was right. I wouldn't be able to handle it. If I lost them both, it would be all my fault. I couldn't live with that guilt.

Ponyboy hated me. I guess I couldn't blame him. Especially since I yell at him all the time and I made him run away again. I could tell that he thought that I hated him. That was as wrong as saying 2+2 is 53,000. Of course I loved him! He just doesn't understand. I definitely needed more than just two chances.

'_Why?' _I ran my hands through my hair. '_Why did Mom and Dad have to die and leave me with this? I can't handle it! What did I do to deserve this?' _I groaned and banged my fist on the table. Soda walked up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. We promised you no more fights, and I screwed up. I just lost control," I said sadly.

"It's okay, Darry."

Then there was a long pause.

"We gotta go after him," Soda said.

"I don't know how we'll catch him. Even if we did, I don't know how we could get him to come back."

"I don't know either, but we have to try. He couldn't have gotten too far by now." I sighed.

"All right. Let's go." We walked out the door to go find my little brother. We walked for about three miles, and he was still nowhere to be found.

"Where do you think he could've gone?" I asked quietly. Soda thought for a moment.

"I think I know where he's going."

"Where?" I asked, but then I realized what he was talking about. Pony is heading for the country. I always knew he loved it there. We started walking a little faster. We turned left at the end of the road, and I saw him walking. It didn't seem like he knew we were there, but then he looked back at us and started running. Then Soda and I started running after him.

"Ponyboy, wait!" Soda shouted. He kept running. Boy, that kid was fast. He _is _in track, after all. Then, I guess we made a wrong turn because we came to a dead end and he stopped and turned around.

"Ponyboy…" Soda started, but I cut him off with a glare that said, '_let me talk to him first.'_ Ponyboy looked to Soda and then to me. I stepped forward.

"Look, I know what I've done. I'm sorry for that. I know that you think that I hate you, but that's not true. I really didn't mean to hit you, I just lost control. Can you forgive me?"

Ponyboy looked at me, eyes completely void of emotion, and said simply, "No." Just no. Nothing more. In that one word, my entire world came crashing down. He didn't believe a word I just said. Soda stepped forward to say something, but he stopped. Then I saw fear in Ponyboy's eyes. He was looking straight ahead. I looked behind me and saw a black mustang. Socs. I realized that Pony's 'no' had a double meaning. The car stopped, and three Socs stepped out. They were drunk, I could tell.

"Whatcha Greasers think you're doing, huh? You guys better watch it."

"No, you guys better watch it. You're in our territory," I growled.

"Oh, no. You happen to be in _our_ territory," the Soc said. I looked around. He was right. We must've stumbled into their territory by mistake. This is not going to be good.

"Hey, you," the Soc said, looking at Ponyboy, "aren't you the one that killed my friend Bob?"

"No, that wasn't him," Soda said. They didn't believe him.

"Oh, yeah? Liar. Hey guys," he said to the other two, "let's teach this Greaser a lesson." He was talking about Ponyboy. Oh, no. I won't allow that.

"Don't you dare even touch my brother," I said.

"Too bad. You guys go and keep those two down while I get this one over here." He charged after Pony while the other two came after Soda and I. It was a pretty even fight, until he pulled out his blade. The Soc did, that is. Pony didn't have his blade with him.

"NO!" I screamed and broke free from the Soc fighting me. The other Soc was going to try to kill Pony. I tried to grab it from him, but then I felt a sharp pain in my side. I looked down at the ground and saw blood. My blood. I started to get dizzy and tried to hold onto consciousness. I saw Soda run up. He looked really mad. Him and Pony were beating those Socs good. My vision was getting really blurry. I fell, and darkness clouded my mind.


	5. Forgiveness

**Ponyboy Pov**

We finally got the Socs to go away. It wasn't easy. Soda and I just stood there in silence for a moment. I didn't know what to say. Darry just saved my life. That Soc was trying to kill me, and Darry just charged in… and the Soc just stabbed him in the side.

"What do we do now, Sodapop?" I asked. He was silent for a moment.

"The only thing we can do is call for help." So that's what we did. A little bit later, a guy ran up to us.

"What's the problem?" Soda pointed over to Darry. The man's eyes went wide.

"What happened?"

"We'll explain later. Can you please help us?"

"Yeah. We gotta hurry, though."

So we got in the man's car and took Darry to the hospital, and on the way there, we tried to find ways to get the bleeding to stop. I really felt bad about all of this. It was my fault.

All of it.

Every tiny drop of blood that he lost was because of me. I hoped desperately that he would live; I didn't want him to die thinking that I still hate him. Soda and I sat in the waiting room for what seemed like hours while the doctor was trying to fix Darry up.

I looked over at Soda and he tried to smile. Still no word about Darry. I didn't want the last thing I said to him to be refusing to forgive him. I need to talk to him at least one more time. I was about to stand up and ask a nurse if I could talk to him when the doctor came in.

"Sorry boys, we're losing him." No. That can't be right. He has to be lying. Darry can't die. Not now.

"Is there any chance of him surviving?" I asked.

"Only a very, very slim chance. I'm sorry." I felt tears in my eyes.

"Can I see him?"

"You can, but…" I didn't hear the rest. I jumped up from my seat and walked into the room. Darry was lying on the bed. I walked up closer, and I could just barely tell that he was breathing. He can't die. He can't die thinking that I hate him.

"I'm sorry, Darry," I whispered, "It's all my fault. You don't deserve to die. I take back all I said during our fight. I mean it. I don't hate you. You're a good big brother and you take good care of us. You saved my life, even after I was a big jerk to you. Me and Soda still need you. All of us do. Our gang already lost Dallas and Johnny, and we can't afford to lose you now. You're Superman. The hero isn't supposed to die at the end, even if it is saving someone's life. I'm so sorry for hurting you, Darr. And I forgive you, even if it wasn't your fault. I love you, Darry. Please… please wake up." Tears welled up in my eyes again. I looked down at the floor.

"Do you really mean that?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up.

"Darry?"

"Yeah." I felt tears slide down my cheeks. Before, there would be no way that I would cry in front of Darry, but now, I knew that it was okay.

"I did mean it. Are you okay?"

"Well, I'm alive. I forgive you, too." I smiled.

"So, no more fights for real this time?" I heard Soda ask. He'd been there the entire time, and I never noticed.

"Yeah," we both said.

"Ponyboy, I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again. If something else happens, and I get mad, just remind me of this and I will try not to yell, okay?" Darry said.

"Okay. And I won't run off anymore."

"Good. Do I get more chances this time?"

"Yeah. Let's hope you don't need them." I grinned. Then the doctor came in. He looked surprised. And no wonder, he _did _say that there was only a very slim chance that he would live.

"Wow. I've never seen someone live through something like that. You're a very lucky young man. How do you feel?"

"Not that good. And I'm really tired."

"I would think so. You should actually start feeling a lot better soon, and you are going to need to take it easy for a while. You'll have to be careful, or you'll end up right back here. Got it?" Darry nodded, and he started to get up.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"No, I'm not helpless." I had a feeling that he would probably say that. Then we walked home, and no one bothered us. I knew for sure that Darry and I would keep our promises this time. I was glad. There was absolutely no way that we would ever fight again.

**A/N: Yay! It's done. No flames please! I almost cried when I was typing this chapter. That's because I'm in love with Darry, of course! :) Please review!**


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